She became a pioneer of the Black Is Beautiful movement when she was featured on the cover of Ladies’ Home Journal in 1968. She was the first Black model ever to achieve such a goal in any mainstream women’s magazine.

However, that only came after her big break in an AT&T TV campaign where she donned designs by Bill Blass. “It helped me more than anything else because it showed my face,” Naomi told LJH. “After it was aired, people wanted to find out about me and use me.”

That TV spot was the jumping point for her career and she went on to cover publications like Cosmopolitan, Essence and Life. But after five years of working it for the cameras and on the runways, Naomi decided to make a career change; she began a wig-making business that catered to Black women, which grew into a multimillion-dollar company.

There are currently two photos of the business savvy beauty hanging up in Metropolitan Museum of Art as part of the Model As Muse exhibit.